Namibia, Hoanib Dry River Drive, Part 1, Episode 103
Enough easy driving. Time to leave civilization, roads and fences behind. We follow a bone dry riverbed and discover animals that defy logic. This a small part of our road trip across Southern Africa. A trip from Tanzania and the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic off the coast of Namibia. For more videos, visit http://3minuteAdventures.com and for more details, maps & facts visit http://RealworldAdventures.com And don't forget to subscribe to this channel. It makes a difference. Hoanib River Part 1 Video Details At this stage our Namibia drive left the road and followed a dry riverbed. Our goal was to cross the Skeleton Coast National Park and reach the Atlantic Ocean in a very indirect route. We snaked our way along a dry riverbed or up and over ridges to adjoining valleys. In all cases the landscape was dry with limited vegetation in or along dry riverbeds. I wondered what the wildlife ate and how they found water to drink out here? Following large droppings we eventually discovering a herd of elephants in a dry riverbed. It was surreal. What was even stranger was when one of the elephants decided to leave the dry riverbed and the others followed. We also followed. The lead elephant then let the herd (and us) to a man-made waterhole. They all drank, swam and dusted before heading out across the desert in search of more vegetation. Desert elephants are not a distinct species of elephant but are African bush elephants that have adapted to their homes in the Namib. They tend to migrate from one waterhole to another following traditional routes, which depend on the seasonal availability of food and water. They face pressure from poaching, from changes in land use by humans and environmental changes in annual rainfall. The Kunene Region in northwest Namibia is an area of mostly sandy desert, rocky mountains and stony plains. Elephants have traditionally lived in this area and in the earlier part of the 20th century there were about 3,000 in the region. By the 1980s the numbers had dropped drastically, however since then, conservation measures have been put in place and by 2013 the number were estimated at about 600. In 1995–1996 there were good rains in Namibia and the elephants expanded their range southwards to the Ugab River. That evening we camped in sandy bend of the Hoanib River.
Enough easy driving. Time to leave civilization, roads and fences behind. We follow a bone dry riverbed and discover animals that defy logic. This a small part of our road trip across Southern Africa. A trip from Tanzania and the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic off the coast of Namibia. For more videos, visit http://3minuteAdventures.com and for more details, maps & facts visit http://RealworldAdventures.com And don't forget to subscribe to this channel. It makes a difference. Hoanib River Part 1 Video Details At this stage our Namibia drive left the road and followed a dry riverbed. Our goal was to cross the Skeleton Coast National Park and reach the Atlantic Ocean in a very indirect route. We snaked our way along a dry riverbed or up and over ridges to adjoining valleys. In all cases the landscape was dry with limited vegetation in or along dry riverbeds. I wondered what the wildlife ate and how they found water to drink out here? Following large droppings we eventually discovering a herd of elephants in a dry riverbed. It was surreal. What was even stranger was when one of the elephants decided to leave the dry riverbed and the others followed. We also followed. The lead elephant then let the herd (and us) to a man-made waterhole. They all drank, swam and dusted before heading out across the desert in search of more vegetation. Desert elephants are not a distinct species of elephant but are African bush elephants that have adapted to their homes in the Namib. They tend to migrate from one waterhole to another following traditional routes, which depend on the seasonal availability of food and water. They face pressure from poaching, from changes in land use by humans and environmental changes in annual rainfall. The Kunene Region in northwest Namibia is an area of mostly sandy desert, rocky mountains and stony plains. Elephants have traditionally lived in this area and in the earlier part of the 20th century there were about 3,000 in the region. By the 1980s the numbers had dropped drastically, however since then, conservation measures have been put in place and by 2013 the number were estimated at about 600. In 1995–1996 there were good rains in Namibia and the elephants expanded their range southwards to the Ugab River. That evening we camped in sandy bend of the Hoanib River.